For immediate release

Generously supported by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation

Shimon Attie’s Night Watch Programming Announcement

The Bay Area’s First 2021 Multi-City Art + Social Justice Event

Shimon Attie, Night Watch (rendering on SF Bay).

3 Nights of Free Shoreline Viewings & Activations + 40+ Partnering Organizations – Free Events, Talks, and Exhibitions – City Hall Illuminated – Jim Campbell’s Midnight Artist Collaboration Series @salesforcetower

July 29, 2021, San Francisco, CA – BOXBLUR and Immersive Arts Alliance are pleased to announce the program schedule for the west coast debut of Shimon Attie’s Night Watch, a floating, media arts installation that will travel the San Francisco Bay and Oakland Estuary, on the evenings of September 17 – 19, 2021 (6:15pm – 9pm).

Night Watch features video portraits on a 20ft-wide, high-resolution LED screen, which will travel along the San Francisco Bay and Oakland Estuary aboard a large, slow-moving barge to allow for on-shore public viewing. Displayed on the screen are silent, close-up video portraits of twelve refugees who were granted political asylum in the United States. The images largely feature members of international LGBTQI communities, as well as unaccompanied minors, who fled tremendous violence and discrimination in their homelands of Colombia, Honduras, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Peru, and Russia.

The floating installation combines contemporary LED technology with an anachronistic mode of transport – a barge – to create a complex and layered artistic and sculptural tableau. Night Watch will activate and animate the San Francisco Bay as both a literal and metaphoric site and landscape for escape, rescue, safe-passage, and the offering of safe-harbor for those most vulnerable. The artwork engages one of the most urgent issues of our time – that of welcoming or closing our doors to asylum seekers.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, many of us are thinking about how to support one another and bring organizations and people together through the arts,” states Catharine Clark, BOXBLUR, co-producer. “We are operating from the idea that art has the capacity to transform and heal, as well as shed light on social justice issues and underscore core values, such as welcoming the stranger. Shimon Attie’s Night Watch does just that by allowing us to reflect on what asylum means on a global, national, local, spiritual, and personal level. We believe that the arts deepen our understanding of democracy and in turn, help to shape policy and humanitarian responses. The significant participation of 40 plus partnering organizations underscores how education and awareness made possible through the arts is best communicated through collaborative efforts. Many of these organizations will also be hosting panel discussions, talks, film screenings, exhibits, and other educational events in conjunction with Night Watch.”

Leading up to the three-nights of September shoreline activations, free and ticketed off-site events, exhibitions, panels, and screenings, will be presented by Night Watch partner organizations beginning in August. Presenting organizations include, Berkeley Art and Pacific Film Archive, College for the Arts, Catharine Clark Gallery, Congregation Emanu-El, Gray Area, Center for Arts & Culture, Minnesota Street Project, Museum of the African Diaspora, PhotoAlliance, Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation, San Francisco Art Institute, and University of San Francisco. In collaboration with Night Watch, Jim Campbell and his team have selected Zeina Barakeh to present, Standard of Capital, a new video curated for the Boston Properties, Salesforce Tower, Midnight Artist Collaboration series.

Partnerships with non-profit organizations representing the needs of refugees and immigrants will provide educational materials and resources to the public online and at the live performance sites; Catholic Charities, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, International Rescue Committee, The LGBT Asylum Project, Oasis Legal Services, Partnerships for Trauma Recovery, and Roots Community Health Center.

“The tremendous support of organizational partners and donors for Night Watch is emblematic of the strength of our communities,” said Catharine Clark, co-producer, Night Watch. “Made possible by 100% philanthropic funding, donations, and in-kind gifts, Night Watch is something of a love letter to the , sanctuary cities, and the individuals who comprise our communities.”

The presentation of Night Watch in San Francisco coincides with the opening of Shimon Attie’s solo exhibition Here, not Here, at Catharine Clark Gallery on September 18, 2021.

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Night Watch Viewing + Activation Schedule

Friday, Sept. 17: Angel Island + Fort Mason and Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants (San Francisco) Saturday, Sept 18: Fort Mason and Warm Water Cove (San Francisco) Sunday, Sept. 19: Oakland Estuary + Brooklyn Basin (Oakland)

On the evenings of September 17 – 19, 2021, Night Watch will travel on a barge captained by Matt Butler and slowly navigate the cities’ shorelines from 6:15pm to 8:15pm, corresponding with scheduled live nightly performances.

Night Watch shoreline performances with artists, musicians, and dancers will take place across the Bay Area over three nights. Music and dance performances for Night Watch site activations around the Bay Area are selected by Classical Revolution and Dance Film SF.

Prime viewing along the San Francisco shorelines includes: Fort Mason, , Pier 15 (), Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants, and Warm Water Cove. In San Francisco the barge will begin its travels at Angel Island at 5pm on September 17th, in acknowledgement of the region’s historic port of entry.

Prime viewing for East Bay shorelines will be on the Oakland Estuary. Oakland’s Brooklyn Basin will be activated by live music selected by Classical Revolution and educational materials provided by non-profit partners. ###

Night Watch Activation Schedule

September 17: Launch Party for Night Watch at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (Free. Proof of vaccination required to enter Cowell Theatre.) 5 – 6:45pm | Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture presents their Fall Arts Preview Party with artwork across the campus. (Food trucks on-site at Fort Mason)

6:30pm | Cowell Theater: (400+ seat theater) Bars and non-profit tabling will be open for the public at the Cowell Theater’s inside and outside lobbies. Music by Calleson (organized by Classical Revolution) until 9pm.

6:35pm | In front of Pier 2: Catharine Clark (BOXBLUR) and Clark Suprynowicz (Immersive Arts Alliance) will announce the beginning of Night Watch festivities and Lenora Lee Dance will lead audience to the Cowell Theater.

6:50 – 7:05pm | Cowell Theater: Lenora Lee Dance performs excerpts from Within These Walls.

7:05 – 7:15pm | Cowell Theater: Program announcements and introduction to Shimon Attie by Catharine Clark (BOXBLUR) and Clark Suprynowicz (Immersive Arts Alliance)

7:15-7:45pm | Outside on Pier 2 and Pier 3: Night Watch video/barge on the Bay between Piers 2 + 3.

7:45 – 8:20pm | Cowell Theater: SF Dance Film Festival program, Dancers Without Borders screened in the Cowell.

8:20-8:15pm | Cowell Theater: Shimon Attie’s video The View From Below and Ido Bartana and Nadim Badiee’s film Painful Silence.

**Night Watch will be visible at Fort Mason from 7:15-7:45 pm, where programming will include music, dance, film, art, and tabling by non-profit partner organizations. Night Watch will then continue along the shoreline and will be viewable from Pier 15, adjacent to the Exploratorium, and in front of Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants (8:15 – 9pm) for programmed music by The Renaissance (organized by Classical Revolution).

September 18: Night Watch at Minnesota Street Project (Ticketed + Free for Students. Proof of vaccination required to enter Minnesota Street Project) 5 – 6pm | Night Watch cocktail hour with artist Shimon Attie. Includes cocktail hour, panel discussion, and procession. $100. All proceeds benefit affordable housing for artists, galleries, and arts non-profits in the Bay Area.

6 – 7:15pm | Panel discussion at 1275 Minnesota Street on the role of amplifying social justice issues. Featuring artists Shimon Attie, Zeina Barakeh, Ana Teresa Fernández, and non-profit representatives Jilma L. Meneses (CEO, Catholic Charities) and Blaine Bookey (Legal Director, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies). Moderated by Elena Gross (Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs, MoAD and Immersive Arts Alliance board member). Includes panel discussion and procession. Sliding scale ($10, $15, $25).

6 – 7:15pm| Live simulcast for the students of the panel discussion at 1150 Minnesota Street. Followed by a musical procession to Warm Water Cove for Night Watch. Free. Pre-Registration and Student ID required.

8 – 9pm| Musical procession led by Mission Delirium, a 15-piece brass, marching band. The procession will begin at Tennessee and 24th Streets and marches 3 blocks to Warm Water Cove where Night Watch is visible from the shore. Free.

**Night Watch will be visible from Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (6:15 – 6:35pm); Pier 39, Pier 15 adjacent the Exploratorium for 30 minutes (7:15pm – 7:45pm); Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants, and will reach Warm Water Cove at 7:55pm. Musical activation by Mission Delirium.

September 19: Night Watch in Oakland (Free) On the final evening, Night Watch will travel the shoreline of the Oakland Estuary, stopping at Brooklyn Basin (6:15pm – 8:15pm) where there will be music by The Renaissance and Citizen’s Jazz (organized by Classical Revolution).

Advance Night Watch Event Schedule

August 25: Museum of the African Diaspora (Free) 1pm – 2:15pm | Zoom studio visit with Shimon Attie, in conversation with Elena Gross, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs.

September 1: Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation (Ticketed) 6pm - 7:30pm | Speaker presentation for Shimon Attie’s Night Watch, featuring panelists in conversation about the role of art, specifically performing arts, as an amplifier for social justice issues. Pre-registration required. This event is open to the public, but with limited admittance. Address: 1401 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94103 Panelists at this event include: Charith Premawardhana (Classical Revolution), Ana Teresa Fernández (artist), Lenora Lee (Lenora Lee Dance), Judy Flannery (Dance Film SF), Clark Suprynowicz,(Immersive Arts Alliance), and moderated by Catharine Clark (BOXBLUR). Music by The Renaissance (organized by Classical Revolution). RSVP directly to [email protected]

September 2 – October 1: Midnight Artist Collaboration series @salesforcetower (Free) Midnight – 1am | Artist, Jim Campbell and his team selected artist Zeina Barakeh to present, Standard of Capital, a new video curated for the Midnight Artist Collaboration series, presented by Boston Properties at Salesforce Tower.

September 15: San Francisco Art Institute / PhotoAlliance (Ticketed) 7pm – 9pm | San Francisco Art Institute and PhotoAlliance, joined by artist, Shimon Attie to discuss the photographic dimension of Attie’s work. Photographer, Yesica Prado is the opening speaker. Event followed by a reception outside on the roof-deck. Tickets required.

September 16 – October 31: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Free) Screening of Shimon Attie’s Night Watch on their outdoor screen for their On the Hour series.

September 17 – 19: SFAI Tower (Free) Screening of Shimon Attie’s Night Watch on the San Francisco Art Institute Tower.

September 17: Launch Party for Night Watch at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (Free) Programming at Fort Mason and Night Watch viewing from Fort Mason, and Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants.

September 18: Night Watch at Minnesota Street Project (Ticketed + Free for Students) Programming at Minnesota Street Project and Night Watch viewing from Fort Mason and Warm Water Cove.

September 18: Catharine Clark Gallery (Free) 11am – 1pm | Opening reception for Shimon Attie’s solo exhibition, Here, not Here (September 18 – October 30) The presentation of Night Watch coincides with the opening of Shimon Attie’s solo exhibition Here, not Here, at Catharine Clark Gallery on September 18, 2021. The exhibition will feature the international premier of Attie’s Video Installation Time Laps Dance, created with dancers and martial artists in Brazil, as well as artworks inspired by Night Watch, and Attie’s widely acclaimed film The Crossing, made in collaboration with seven Syrian refugees. In addition, the gallery will have on view a wide survey of works from other series, such as Attie’s “Facts on the Ground” created in Israel and Palestine, “The History of Another” created in Rome, and his seminal “The Writing on the Wall,” created in Berlin’s former Jewish quarter, among other works.

September 19: Night Watch in Oakland (Free) Non-profit tabling, music, and Night Watch viewing along the east side of the Oakland Estuary, including an activation with music at Brooklyn Basin.

September 20: Congregation Emanu-El (Free) 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm | Community Sukkot Celebration and Here, not Here, Artist Talk by Shimon Attie Register here: https://congregationemanuel.magentrix.com/aspx/NM_Friendly_Login_Page

September 21: University of San Francisco (Free) Night Watch at USF 6:30pm – 8pm | University of San Francisco’s Swig Program in Jewish Studies & Social Justice, with the Theology and Religious Studies Program, and, in coordination with the Museum Studies MA Program, hosts a talk with Shimon Attie (open to the public).

September 22: California College of the Arts (Free) 4pm – 5pm | California College of the Arts, co-hosted by the Film and Graduate Fine Arts Programs, presents a student talk with Shimon Attie. Zoom program. Join the zoom on 8/22: https://cca.zoom.us/J/98422095886#success

September 26: San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (Ticketed) San Francisco Contemporary Music Players perform Image and Memory, hosted by BOXBLUR at Catharine Clark Gallery. Members: Free / Non-Members: $15 Live, $5 Digital access 2pm | Pacific Gallery Viewing with Catharine Clark, Gallery Owner 2:30pm | Pre-Concert Discussion with SFCMP Musicians facilitated by Eric Dudley 3pm | Concert

October 12 – 16: Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) (Ticketed) As part of the Leonard Cohen exhibitions, CJM is presenting a solo installation of I'm Your Man (A Portrait of Leonard Cohen) by Berlin-based artist Candice Breitz. Candice also has a recent work called Love Story, in which she addresses the complexity of refugee narratives in some depth.

October 18 – Berkeley Arts + Design (Free) 6:30pm – 8pm | Berkeley Arts + Design hosts Zoom talk with Shimon Attie. Pre-registration required.

October 23 – San Francisco Dance Film Festival (Ticketed) 7pm – 8:30pm | Dance Heals, a mixed program of screen-dance and short documentary films presents a range of personal stories of resilience, persistence, and triumph. Live performance following the screening. Curated by the SF Dance Film Festival and co-hosted by BOXBLUR at Catharine Clark Gallery.

November 5 - The Institute of Contemporary Art San José (Free) 5pm - 9pm | ICA San José First Friday program featuring Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab and a one-night screening of Shimon Attie’s Night Watch (in-situ in New York City), 2019 and Night Watch (in-situ in SF and Oakland Bays), 2021.

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Night Watch Sponsors and Partners Night Watch is co-produced by BOXBLUR and Immersive Arts Alliance with support from the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, BD+20, Candy Jernigan Foundation for the Arts, Classical Revolution, Large Screen Video, Maybach Family Vineyards, Norris Communications, Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation, Marketing by Storm, and Waterbar and EPIC Steak restaurants. Media sponsor KQED. Partners include Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Boston Properties, California College of the Arts, Cal Sailing Club, Catharine Clark Gallery, Catholic Charities, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Congregation Emanu-El, Contemporary Jewish Museum, Dance Film SF, Exploratorium, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Gray Area, International Rescue Committee, Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, The Institute of Contemporary Art San José, Mangan Group Architects, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, Minnesota Street Project, Morrison Productions, Mullowney Printing, Museum of the African Diaspora, Oasis Legal Services, Partnerships for Trauma Recovery, PhotoAlliance, Roots Community Health Center, San Francisco Art Dealers Association, San Francisco Art Institute, SFArtsED, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, San José Museum of Art, Swig Program in Jewish Studies & Social Justice at USF, The LGBT Asylum Project, Theology & Religious Studies Program at USF, UC Berkeley Arts + Design, University of San Francisco, and Value Culture.

Shimon Attie was born in Los Angeles, educated in the San Francisco Bay Area, and lives in New York. He has received numerous visual artist fellowships, including from: John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy in Rome (The Rome Prize), The National Endowment for the Arts, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Kunstfonds (Germany’s NEA equivalent), and a Lee Krasner Lifetime Achievement Award. Attie’s artistic practice is expansive: public installation, photography, multi-channel video, and mixed media works. His career is international and is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery. For more than two decades, Attie’s work has reflected on the relationship between place and memory. He often engages with local communities and collaborates with non-profit organizations to reimagine relationships between space, time, and place. An interest in loss, communal trauma, and the potential for regeneration shape Attie’s approach to his practice. http://shimonattie.net/

BOXBLUR emerged from a history of performances at Catharine Clark Gallery. In 2016, this effort was formalized as BOXBLUR, a fiscally sponsored program of Dance Film SF. BOXBLUR collaborates with other organizations that amplify communal values. A central piece of BOXBLUR’s program is its partnership with the San Francisco Dance Film Festival. BOXBLUR produces socially engaged projects that are performative, often experimental, and are realized in conversation with a visual artist’s work. BOXBLUR’s projects expand the presentation and definition of performance in non-proscenium settings. https://cclarkgallery.com/exhibitions/boxblur-attie-night-watch- 2021

Immersive Arts Alliance was founded to encourage, develop, and to present large-scale, multidisciplinary exhibits and performances in the Bay Area and beyond. With a deep commitment to diversity and to social justice, Immersive Arts Alliance engages the public in vital discussions about innovation, creativity, and culture at large. https://www.immersiveartsalliance.org/artists

*Media kit, interviews, and high-res images available upon request Press contact: Wendy Norris | Norris Communications 415-307-3853 or [email protected]

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